Definitions of Family
by N. H. Moonshadow
Summary: When a dimensional rift opens up and drags them into a parallel world, Gabriel and Gadreel see that these Winchesters have had a rough time. Seeing as their counterparts are both gone, they step in to help. After all, different world or not, they're still family. (Spin-off to The Gift)


**Definitions of Family**

 **by: N.H. Moonshadow**

They tumbled out of the dimensional rift, grabbing at each other for balance. The bright yellow energy of the portal crackled behind them before disappearing with a snap.

Gadreel straightened and briefly touched Gabriel's cheek. "Are you alright?"

His mate offered a grin, took his hand and smacked a kiss on the back of his knuckles. "Just peachy." He then dropped the hand and patted Gadreel's arms as if in inspection. "How about you?"

"I am fine," he reassured him before glancing around them. "But where are we?"

Gabriel pivoted on the ball of his foot, examining their surroundings. They stood outside a two story house on a remote lakefront property. The only signs of inhabitants was the background noise of the local wildlife. Gadreel felt his mate reach out with his grace and pagan magic, knowing it was the best way to paint a complete picture. "Hmm. Well, it's definitely Earth. Doesn't feel like ours though. I think we're somewhere in Washington. It feels like there was some sort of cosmic event recently though. Like serious _Disturbance In The Force_ level."

"What should we-" Gadreel gasped and clutched his head as booming and angry voices tore through Heaven's frequencies. Then a single cry, different from the rest. It was confused, scared and _so very young_. It almost felt like a . . .

 _Fledgling_.

Gadreel's eyes snapped open. "Gabriel, did you feel that?"

"Oh, boy, did I. This has 'trouble' written all over it." He grimaced, but then spread his wings anyway. "Shall we?"

Gadreel spread his wings as well, and together the pair flew off to investigate.

 **oOoOo**

When they arrived, they found themselves outside of the local sheriff's office. There was a familiar black car parked outside, standing in stark contrast to the sheriff's.

Gabriel couldn't help but scoff. "Why am I not surprised?"

There was a ripple from within, agitated and aggressive angels and the familiar shine of the soul's of the Winchester brothers. Both were more tarnished than Gabriel was used to seeing, but it was unmistakably them. He lifted an eyebrow at Gadreel. "I help Deano, and you get Sam?"

Gadreel nodded in agreement and took off into the building.

Using good ol' Pagan teleportation instead of his wings, Gabriel snapped himself into the room where Dean was. He landed behind the angel who was busy threatening a human teenager in an attempt to bully the kids mom into shooting Dean.

Well, that wouldn't do at all.

In a flash he had his own blade to her throat, and twisted her wrist harshly to pull hers away from the boy. The teen scrambled away from his captor to hide behind his mother. Smart kid.

Gabriel tsked at the Angel, lifting his blade to tilt her head back. "Oh, Miriam! What would Pops say to you threatening children?"

Color drained from her face when she recognized him. "G-Gabriel?!"

"Ding ding ding! Give the lady a prize!" He looked up at the alternate version of one of his flock mates and winced. "Looking a little rough there Deano."

The man went from shocked to furious in the span of a second. Yep. Definitely like their Dean. "And where the Hell have you been? You son of a bitch! Have you been playing possum this whole time?"

He must still be dead in this dimension. That was worth noting.

Then there was a voice across angel radio, loud and clear.

 _He's here. We have the boy_.

Miriam tried to rally her nerves and attempted a smug look. "You're after the nephilim too, aren't you? You're a little late to the party. Lucifer's child is ours!"

And that would certainly explain the dimensional rift that he and Gadreel were dragged into.

He looked up at Dean, then back down to Miriam. He smirked down at her and snapped his fingers. Miriam yelped as she disappeared from the room.

The sheriff looked startled. "Where did she go?"

Gabriel waved a hand dismissively as he put his blade away. "Psh, don't worry about her. I just tucked her away into a pocket dimension. She'll find her way out eventually, but not before we are _long_ gone. Whoa!"

He dodged Dean's fist, the man practically vibrating with the sheer amount of rage and grief he was radiating.

"Kiddo, do you want to break your hand? Because that's a great way to do it."

"Where _were you_!" Dean snarled, then took another swing. "The world kept going to shit again and _again_! And you were, _what_? Going on vacation? We needed help you bastard, so where were you!"

Gabriel caught the last swing and twisted, not enough to do damage, but enough to make the hunter stop. "To be fair to myself, I'm pretty sure this dimensions Gabriel really is dead. The last time our Dean got angsty it was because Kevin stole the last slice of pie, not because of any looming doom and gloom."

That brought Dean up short and his voice became faint. "Kevin?"

Gabriel released Dean's fist.

"Yeah, Kevin." Gabriel started gesturing with his hands. "You know, about yay high, Prophet of the Lord and Decoder of Tablets. Chronic insomniac extraordinaire. Kevin."

"Kevin's dead. Gadreel murdered him."

There was a disturbing image. "You know what, how about we compare notes later. Let's go grab your brother and vamoose."

 **oOoOo**

Gadreel landed just in time to see Sam thrown across the cell by an angel wearing a female vessel. She then made to grab a boy who was hunched near the wall clutching at his head.

She didn't expect to be given the same treatment she had just given Sam. Gadreel threw her at her partner, sending both of them sprawling across the floor.

Gadreel summoned his blade and leveled it at them in warning. He glanced at the boy, seeing at once how vastly powerful and how _very new_ he was. His wings were that of an archangel, the feathers a mix of cotton white down and shining gold feathers. The three sets of limbs were reactive but uncoordinated. Gadreel had never met a nephilim before, but this one had a pure and untainted soul and an unprecedented amount of power. "Are you alright little one?"

He looked both startled and confused. "I- yes. I think so."

"Good." He lightly touched the boy's shoulder, gently ushering the child behind him. "Keep behind me and stay close to Sam."

"Gadreel?" Sam rasped.

"Hello Sam," he greeted, but he kept his eyes firmly on the two angels climbing to their feet.

"You're an imposter," the one in a male vessel spat. "The real Gadreel took his own life at the end of Metatron's reign."

His gut twisted, but he remained calm. "Regardless of who you believe me to be, I do not wish for bloodshed. But I will not let you touch the Winchesters or the child. Leave."

The one wearing the blonde woman sneered. "Or you'll do what?"

"Oh, he won't have to do anything."

There was a snap and the two angels gasped as they were blasted from their feet and pinned to the wall.

Gabriel strolled into view, with a cautious Dean in tow. He gave a full trickster smirk and lifted an eyebrow at Gadreel. "Hey, babe. Sorry to keep you waiting. Everyone okay in there?"

"Sam got thrown but we are otherwise unharmed."

"Super."

Dean stared between Gabriel and Gadreel gobsmacked. "What the hell?"

"Like I said, Deano, we'll swap stories later. Why don't you all pile in that black behemoth you call a car and I'll catch up." He jerked a thumb at the two still against the wall. "I'm gonna have a word with Thing One and Thing Two first."

"I'm not going _anywhere_ until I get some goddamn _answers_!"

"Dean-"

"No, Sam! We got Heaven and Hell gunning for Rosemary's Baby over there, and you wanna listen to these two assholes, who, _by the way_ , are supposed to be _dead_?!" He turned his glare and pointed an angry finger at Gabriel. "I'm not buying your Sliders bullshit, okay? Just, no."

"Where is Castiel?" Gadreel asked. "He could tell you we are who we claim to be."

The look Dean pinned him with was raw. His jaw and fists clenched and eyes were completely devoid of warmth.

Gadreel's heart sank. _Oh no._

"I was told that my father is dead." The boy had stepped timidly beside Gadreel. "Did you know him?"

Dean looked ready to throw punches. "If I have to hear about Lucifer-"

"Jack is talking about Cas," Sam cut in.

Gadreel and Gabriel exchanged a look.

"Okay, our dimension or not, this is officially a flock matter. Gad, sweetheart, get them moving. I'll see ya in a few."

With that, Gabriel disappeared with his two captives.

 **oOoOo**

It took some convincing to get Dean on the road with all passengers in tow. The elder Winchester was so furious he was giving everyone else in the car the cold shoulder, leaving a very uncomfortable silence in its wake. At one point Sam made to turn on the radio, only to have his hand smacked away.

Gadreel thought it wise not to ask where they were going.

Jack couldn't keep his eyes off of Gadreel, it was as if he was the most interesting thing the child had ever seen. He offered the fledgling a warm smile.

"You're not angry," the boy said in wonder.

"Now why would I be angry with you, little one?"

A shrug. "The others were angry. So were the voices and-" he glanced briefly at the back of Dean's head. "I make things happen when I'm scared. I don't mean to. I tried to say sorry."

Gadreel couldn't resist the wing he draped over Jack. He kept the motion slow and easy so he wouldn't startle him. "You have vast amount of potential and no experience to help you control it. Learning control takes time."

Jack bowed his head for a moment and then asked, "What's a flock?"

Gadreel shifted in his seat a bit to give Jack his full attention. "A flock is a specific type of family found in angelic social structure. At least, it is in my dimension. Usually they are very small, mostly made of just Bondmates or a handful of individuals that have an extremely close bond of friendship. Members of a flock support and protect one another. Our flock is unusual and bigger than most. Two pairs of Bondmates and three individuals."

"What did the man mean when he said that this was a flock matter?"

Gadreel's eyes flicked to the front seat where both Winchesters were pretending not to listen. "Gabriel? Well, back home Castiel, Sam and Dean are all members of our flock."

"Yeah right." Dean glared daggers at him in the rear view mirror. "Gabriel 2.0 also mentioned Kevin. How does he fit into all that?"

Sam turned to look at Gadreel as well, but Gadreel didn't know how to read the expression there.

Instead of answering Dean outright, he continued to speak with Jack. "Would you like to see what my flock looks like?"

Jack's smile was bright and blinding. "Yes!"

Gadreel pulled out his cell phone. The little icon at the top said he had no signal, but thankfully, that was not necessary to access his photos. Gabriel and Charlie both had a habit of stealing his phone to take snapshots of the bunker residents. He pulled up one of his favorites. This one was taken by Gabriel several months ago, right after a particularly successful hunt. Sam, Dean and Castiel had come home exhausted, but happy, and had brought home pizza and beer for the entire bunker. Gabriel had caught a moment of perfect chaos. Sam and Dean were grappling over the last bottle of beer while Kevin was sneaking a slice of pizza from Dean's plate. Charlie had flopped herself over Castiel's shoulder in an attempt to smash a palmful of whip cream into his face. Castiel had barely managed to deflect in time and he certainly looked surprised. Gadreel himself was looking at the camera, elbow on the table and chin propped in his palm, and an amused smile on his face.

"Gabriel was the one to take this photo, so you can't see him here." He turned the phone and started pointing out each person to Jack. "Sam and Dean you know, that man is Kevin, and the woman is Charlie. And that there is Castiel."

The Impala swerved, but was quickly corrected. Dean's knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

Sam held out his hand, lips pursed. "Can I see?"

"Of course." Gadreel passed his phone into his waiting hand.

Sam started swiping through photos, then paused, a low noise caught in his throat. "When were these taken?"

"Most of those have been within the last six months. That first one was a bit older." Gadreel was given his phone back only to have it immediately stolen by Jack, but he didn't mind. The boy looked mesmerized by the photo on the screen.

This one Charlie was responsible for, and had snuck around just to take it. Dean and Castiel had been in the library, sitting beside one another. Dean had an arm wrapped around Castiel's shoulder, and his forehead resting against his temple. Dean had been in mid sentence and both were smiling.

Jack looked up at the Dean who was driving then back down to the one on the screen. "He looks so happy here. Why is he in pain now?"

"Grief and fear are painful things, Jack," Gadreel told him gently. "They are powerful emotions and they make good people not act like themselves. I believe the Winchesters of this world have had a much harder time than mine."

There was a flutter of wings and suddenly Gadreel had a lapful of Gabriel. "Babe, you don't know the half of it."

"Hey, no teleportation in the car!"

Gabriel rolled his eyes at Dean.

"What did you learn?" Gadreel asked quietly.

Gabriel grimaced, and murmured back. "Nothing good. Just be thankful things panned out for us the way it did, Holy Toledo. Our timelines seem identical right up until the Fall. But with a few differences. The whole Metatron debacle got so much worse before it got better, and I mean Bad with a capital 'B'. No one's allowed to leave the Bunker for a week when we get home." It was then that Gabriel noticed that Jack was now watching him closely. He pulled a candy bar from his pocket. "Hey kiddo. Snickers?"

Gadreel just shook his head in mild exasperation.

 **oOoOo**

They ended up back at the lakeside house.

As the group all piled out of the Impala, Gabriel squinted up at the building. "Is there something I should know about this place?"

Dean stormed inside without looking at anyone, the screen door slamming shut behind him. Sam watched him go without comment.

"I was born here," Jack answered.

"Alright. And exactly how old are you kiddo?"

"Fifteen hours and twenty six minutes."

Gabriel whistled. "Talk about a rough first day."

"You could say that." Sam said, then he cleared his throat. "We all lost someone last night, and we haven't . . ."

Gabriel and Gadreel could both read between the lines on that one.

 _We haven't had time to process._

 _We haven't had time to grieve._

 _We haven't had time to say goodbye._

Both of them knew what they would find inside, and both of them felt the echoes of loss.

It may not be their Castiel, but it very well could have been.

But because it _was_ Castiel, there was a chance that they could help anyway.

 **oOoOo**

They left Sam to show Jack how to say goodbye to his mother. For Jack to carry so much of her within him, Kelly must have been a very kind woman who loved Jack with all of her soul. Bearing a nephilim took a certain level of sacrifice, so there was nothing they could do for Kelly but pay their respects.

Gabriel and Gadreel found Dean sitting quietly in the dining room. He had pushed a chair back towards the wall and had settled there, elbows on his knees, and fingers loosely laced together. His whole body was hunched forward, and his hollow eyes stared unwaveringly at the table where a body lay, draped in a white sheet. The pair deliberately made noise as they entered the room, but Dean didn't react to their presence.

Gabriel stood beside Dean and watched his mate approach the table and gently fold the sheet back.

Even knowing what to expect, it didn't make the sight any easier to bear. Gabriel had to remind himself that this was the second time his mate had seen their fledgling laid out cold and still in death. He could keep himself together.

Gadreel stood there for a long moment, smoothing back strands of Castiel's hair before he addressed Dean. "Would you like to know the truth about why Castiel has always been so fundamentally different from the rest of the Host?"

"What's to say that my Cas is anything like yours?" Dean's voice was low and rough, still sharp, but it lacked the razor edge he had earlier.

Gabriel pulled a second chair next to Dean, and twisted it around so he could sit in it backwards. "Turns out our worlds are nearly identical. The only divergence in the timeline is a small change, made eons ago. When it came to Heaven's first prisoner, Michael doled out a harsher punishment here than he did back home. Butterfly effect and all that."

"So?"

"So, it means that your Castiel had the same start as ours," Gabriel continued. "You see, what makes Castiel so special is that Dad didn't create him. A mated pair of angels did. But one of his parents made a mistake and little Castiel was taken away and the poor kid's memories were stripped. But here, here they took it a step further. They had the parent's memories erased too as part of their punishment. At least the parts about having a kid."

Gadreel turned hurt eyes at Gabriel. He gave his mate a rueful smile. "Told ya it got bad."

"Why even bother telling me?" Dean ground out. "What good does it do now that- that he's . . ."

"Because there's a good chance we can bring him back."

Dean's eyes focused on them for the first time since entering the room. "What's the catch?"

"If you were any other person, I would insist that there is no catch," Gadreel told the hunter, as he respectfully pulled the sheet back up. "But I know you, Dean Winchester, and I am aware that you would never accept that at face value. So the 'catch', as it were, is this." He waited until Dean met his gaze. "First: once he is returned to you, ask Castiel about your rescue from Hell. There is a secret he has been carrying alone for years, not because it is dangerous, but because you yourself do not remember. Ask him to tell you what a Claim is."

Dean had that blank look where a conversation took an abrupt left turn that he didn't see coming. "Um, okay. What else?"

"Jack," Gadreel replied. "It would seem the child imprinted on Castiel."

Dean snorted. "More like brainwashed."

"Hey! The kid isn't the first nephilim to exist ya know," Gabriel scolded. "Sure, my big brothers never bothered to get down and dirty with the locals, but some of the angels who followed Luci did. The reason those kids went dark side was because of the angels they imprinted on. Twisted grace equals twisted kid."

"Which brings me back to my point," Gadreel continued. "Jack imprinted, therefore if Castiel stays then so does Jack. You can not have one without the other."

"What if he follows in Daddy Lucifer's footsteps?"

Gabriel snorted. "With you and Jolly Green showing him the better parts of humanity? Fat chance of that."

"Since when do either of you bastards even care, huh?" Dean scrubbed his face with both hands, eyes suspiciously wet.

Gabriel crossed his arms on the backrest and grinned cheekily. "What if we just like the thought of being interdimensional grandparents?"

"Wait-" Dean's hand fell away and he pointed a finger and swung it between the two of them. "You're telling me that it's _you two_? Cas was-"

"Our kid? Yep!" Gabriel paused to wince. "Well, technically not _ours_ , but seeing as our counterparts aren't available we're stepping up to the plate. So. You want our help or not?"

There was a long silence, then a defeated sigh. "Fine. What do you need me to do?"

 **oOoOo**

They stayed until Kelly's funeral pyre had burned itself out, and then with a snap Gabriel transported the whole flock to the outskirts of Lebanon, Kansas. Gadreel followed soon after, bringing Castiel's body to the very same clearing they had used to resurrect Gabriel back on their world.

The spell was based on the very ritual they had used that day, but streamlined and stripped down to the bare bones.

After all, with so many things on hand to use as anchors, calling Castiel home turned into a relatively simple thing. And if Gabriel and Gadreel each gave up a tiny portion of their own grace to give this Castiel a bit of a power boost, well, that was no one's business but their own.

 **End**

 **(** maybe? **)**

 **Author's Notes:** Hello Everyone! So this little thing came to me after watching s13.01 Lost and Found. When Jack claimed Cas as his dad, instantly my brain said "OMG this Gad and Gabe's grandbaby!" So I offer this as a little Halloween tribute. I hope you enjoyed, and as always: Happy Reading! -Shadow


End file.
